"Addy, turn that damn alarm off or so help me god!" Lindsey shouts form beneath the covers.

The last few days have been relatively calm, but I can't seem to shake the day I spent with Oliver. He dropped me off at the dorms without a word before whipping out of the parking lot. Whenever I even attempted to start a conversation in the car, he'd crank the music louder and act as if he didn't hear me. I didn't mean to offend him, but I am not ready to let my guard down around him or anybody else for that matter. It honestly terrifies me how comfortable I felt around him, I usually only feel at ease like that around my mom. It's strange to me, I hardly know him, yet I feel so safe around him and that's how I know I need to keep my distance. If I fall for his charm and his false sense of security, I'll end up losing everything again...at least what little I have gained back.

With a groan I pull myself from the comfort of my bed and turn off the obnoxious sound blaring from my phone. I slip into an old black and purple tie-dyed Zodiac shirt that once belong to my dad and pull on a pair of high waisted shorts before tucking my shirt it. Looking in the mirror I pull at the material to remove some of the excess from my shorts, so it hangs over the waist band cutely. Taking one last glance I smile before slipping on my shoes and grabbing my backpack to hurry down the hallway.

My literature and macroeconomics class seem to fly by and soon I am off to my final class of the day, Relationships 101. It is a class Oregon State offers that discusses gender differences, relationship principles, family of origin and personal needs. It was my mom's idea for me to take it. I still remember her words, maybe this class will help you work through some of your bitterness towards relationships of all natures.

When I enter the lecture hall I stop and scan the large room and my eyes quickly spot Luke in the back row. His eyes meet mine, he is quick to offer a smile and small wave before turning to speak to the person next to him again. I debate sitting with him until I realize it is Oliver sitting next to him. My chest tightens before I force my feet forward in search of a seat towards the middle. While unpacking my bag someone takes the seat beside me, as I sit up a notice it is Cameron from the café.

"Hey!" I smile.

"Hey, you're the pretty girl that never texted me, right?" He smirks while a playful gleam fills his eyes.

"You were supposed to text me, I don't have your number." I remind him with a teasing tone.

"Shoot, you're right! I feel like an idiot." His cheeks turn slightly pink, but he still manages to smile. "So, let me guess you aren't the over achiever that sits towards the front, but you also aren't a slacker that sits in the back." He looks over his shoulder at Luke and Oliver. "Aren't they upperclassmen?"

"Um, now that you mention it, I don't know. This is an undergraduate class though." I shrug as the professor walks out of his office and into the lecture hall.

"Good afternoon class. My name is Professor Neil Davis and I will be your professor for Relationships 101. We will go over the syllabus today however, I always like to start by asking each of you to share two to three sentences about what the term relationship means to you. When you have finished please wait patiently for your fellow classmates to finish. Next, I will take volunteers to read aloud, keep in mind in order to be marked as present you must read your response." He smiles as everyone begins scribbling their sentences across a blank page.

Professor Davis slowly makes his way through the raised hands, but I am hesitant to speak to soon I want my words to blend into the rest. Each student states their name and reads what they have to say. I listen casually and jot down any quotes that stand out to me, but I mainly listen in silence. Everyone is so damn sappy! "You in the back". He points.

"Hi, my name's Oliver Smith and I wrote: a relationship is a bond between two people, a bond that can leave you vulnerable. The problem with relationships though is no one is comfortable being that vulnerable. I know it's simple but that's all I got." He shrugs before biting down on his pen.

"Simple but valuable. Who's next?"

Timidly I raise my hand and relief washes over me when the Professor points to me. "Um, my name is, Adelaide Mikaelson." I shift uncomfortably in my chair before forcing my tongue to form the words on my page. "Relationships are something we as a society place to much value on. As Oliver already stated no one truly wants to be that vulnerable. However, without being that open and honest, without being that raw we can never truly show our true selves. Therefore, we can never truly trust another person. It's this very reason I don't engage in them."

"Perhaps, but do you think you may be being too critical of what it means to engage in a relationship? Do you truly feel no one understand or knows who you are?"

I laugh nervously, I didn't expect him to respond with a question. "Other than my mom no. No one. There isn't a single person other than her that can tell you what the last year of my life has been like or what my greatest fear is."

"I can answer both of those," Oliver says from the back of the class smugly. "You openly told me about your last year and from that I can deduct what your greatest fear is."

The eyes of our peers' dart between the two of us and unfortunately for me the professor makes no effort to stop the encounter. He seems to welcome it almost.

"I confessed one fact of the last year, that does not mean we are anything more than strangers. Also, without understanding me you have no idea what my greatest fear is." I am growing angrier. "You know small details about what I told you, you don't know the full story so don't pretend to know me." With a huff I throw my back into the chair and face the front of the class. I expect him to make another smart remark, but he remains quiet, good riddance.

When Professor Davis excuses class he informs us of our first assignment. He expects us to write a three-page essay expanding on the views we shared in class, explaining why it is we feel the way we do. Cameron waits as I collect my things and walks beside me as we exit.

"So, I am guessing you know the Oliver kid in the back." He smirks.

"Yeah, he's my roommate's friend." I offer quietly.

"Hmm." He makes a puzzled expression before looking at me. "Does he know that's all he is?"

My eyes go wide while my mouth falls open. "What is that supposed to mean?" I ask once I recover. Why would Oliver assume anything else?

"He seemed pretty offended by what you had to say." He tries to smile but it fades quickly. "I mean were you serious? Do you really not believe in forming relationships?"

"I just don't see the value in them." I shrug. "I guess I miss having friends, but I just don't want to be that vulnerable again, not yet."

"You are a peculiar woman Ms. Adelaide." He laughs as he nudges me with his shoulder. "I have to go but I'll see you later."

"Okay," I whisper and when I look around, I spot Lindsey waving at me.

"Hang out with me!" she shouts.

I jog down the steps outside the building and join her on the lawn. "How did you know I was here?"

"Oliver texted me and mentioned you were in his class." She smiles. "Please get ice cream with Hannah and me. I know she can be kind of a bitch, but I promise it won't be dreadful!"

The pleading look in her actually makes me break. "Alright fine, but I get shotgun!"

"Yay!" She wraps her arms around me tightly. "I'm so excited. Come on!" She grabs ahold of my hand and drags me behind her.

Hannah was waiting for us at Lindsey's car and tried to protest having to sit in the backseat but quickly lost the debate and huffed as she sat in the back. The ride was extremely quiet but luckily it was short. When we walk into the pastel pink ice cream shop the smell of freshly made waffle cones hit me and it is heavenly. I smile at the woman behind the counter and quickly order a cotton candy ice cream cone and pay while Lindsey and Hannah decide what they want.

Lindsey pays next and joins me at a table just outside. "So, where are you from?" she asks as she pulls a chair out to sit in. As she sits, she tucks one leg up underneath herself and pulls the other into her chest before licking what looks like blackberry ice cream.

"Um, California." I offer simply. I could tell her the name of my town, but she would never have heard of it.

"Did you like it there?" She smiles and glances towards the shop door as Hannah walks out.

"You guys could have waited for me!" she barks with a scowl.

"Sorry," Lindsey mumbles before throwing me a timid smile. It seems Hannah is rude to everyone she knows, except Oliver of course. When they are together her tongue is always down his throat, at least it seems that way by the amount of picture proof she has on her Instagram. "Anyways, did you like it in Cali?"

"Mmmm, I guess." I shrug. "To many bad memories there though. It was gorgeous where I lived in Cali but then you add in everything else and my love for it just kind of vanished." I force a laugh to lighten the mood.

"I get that!" She giggles. "There's this restaurant I loved and one day I got smashed and puked my guts out right in the dining hall, never went back!"

"So, I heard you and Oliver hung out." Hannah blurts, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Wait, what?" Lindsey nearly chokes.

"If you can call it that, then yeah. We aren't friends so you have no reason to worry. I'm not trying to take your man." My tone is bitter, but I am also fighting the urge to laugh in her face.

"She wishes he was her man!"

"Shut up!" Hannah rolls her eyes. "Can we go? The boys should be done with practice soon."

"The boys?" I raise my brow at Lindsey.

"Yeah; Luke, Hayden and Oliver all play baseball together. That's how they met actually," Lindsey offers with a smile. "Which is how I met Hannah. Oliver and she have been well fuck buddies forever," she tries not to laugh, "so Oliver brought her over one day and we became friends."

"What pisses me off is that was almost two years ago, and I am still just the fuck buddy," she uses her fingers as air quotes when she says the last two words. "I've only slept with a few other people during that time, while he sleeps with anything willing."

"You mean anyone he can coax into it," Lindsey laughs.

My stomach turns at the thought and I fight the urge to show my discontent with the information. After all, why should it bother me?

"Whatever!" Hannah rolls her eyes before standing to throw the rest of her ice cream away. "Can we just go? They'll be pissed if we don't get there on time."

"You mean Oliver will be pissed." Lindsey laughs and when Hannah throws her a scowl, I can't help but join in.

Within no time we are pulling into the parking lot closest to the baseball fields and quickly spot the guys hanging out near their vehicles. As soon as Lindsey kills the engine, we all climb out into the warm air as evening falls across campus, the sky painted a beautiful orange hue as the sun sets over the horizon.

As we approach Oliver notes Hannah first and glares. "What the fuck took so long?" He looks past her, and his features soften when he notices me, but he quickly looks away returning his attention to Hannah.

"Um—"

"There was traffic," Lindsey lies.

"Hey, chill out man." Luke laughs while playfully patting Oliver's back. "Are you going to join us for movie night Abby?"

"Movie night?"

"Yeah we do it once in a while. It usually just us four but you are more than welcome to join."

"Oh, um I don't know," I stutter out. I need to find a way out of this, being the odd man out is never fun even when you don't want to be with someone.

"It'll be fun, please!" Lindsey begs and I have no idea why it actually works on me. She is just so kind, it pains me to disappoint her.

"Alright fine, but there better be popcorn," I threaten with a smile.